


Peace Talks: missing scenes

by Ulchabhan



Category: The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Missing Scene, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:13:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28455153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ulchabhan/pseuds/Ulchabhan
Summary: A collection of missing Harry/Karrin scenes from in and around Peace Talks. Some are smut, some are fluff, some are more down-to-earth. Spoilers for all published books.
Relationships: Harry Dresden/Karrin Murphy
Comments: 12
Kudos: 23





	1. So I went...

**Author's Note:**

> I felt a little short-changed that we didn't actually get to see Harry and Murphy's first time together. Especially after that incredibly hot scene in Skin Game turned out to be a dream. So, here's my version. The italicised opening is from the book. Rating for this chapter is E.

_Karrin nodded, and her gaze flicked to the grandfather clock against the wall. “You’ve still got a little time before you need to be back,” she said._

_“Yeah?”_

_She nodded. Her blue eyes were very direct. “Come here.”_

_I arched an eyebrow. “Um. Things haven’t really changed on that score. I’m not sure that—”_

_She let out a wicked little laugh. “Adapt and overcome, Harry. I’m intelligent. And you’ve at least got a decent imagination. Between the two of us, we’ll come up with something.” Her eyes narrowed. “Now. Come. Here.”_

_It would have been incredibly impolite to refuse a lady._

_So I went._

Her eyes tracked my every step as I drew nearer. She showed none of the nerves I was suddenly feeling.

I mean, it was _Karrin_. It was Murphy, for God’s sake. We'd literally taken bullets for each other. We'd been best friends for a decade. Assuming we could figure out some way of doing it without hurting her, we were about to have sex.

It was something I'd fantasised about so many times. So many ways… And I wondered if she had too. Dear God, what if I was no good? What if I disappointed her? I mean, it had been a while…

And then I was standing over her, and she reached up to pull me down. Our mouths met and…holy heck, there was that desire again. The kind maybe you could _only_ have for your best friend who'd driven you across Lake Michigan on a motorcycle fighting monsters. Her tongue swept into my mouth, and I groaned softly, my hands holding her face as hers pulled at my hair.

I felt like I was melting into her. The Winter Mantle was strangely and mercifully quiet, satisfied that it would be sated shortly. Karrin's good hand moved from my hair to run down my front. Then her warm palm slid under my shirt and made its slow, delicious way back up my stomach to my chest. Her nails scratched me softly.

God, I was already hard. My body was warm and thrumming all over, like a pleasantly resonant note on a guitar. I let one of my hands slip from her face to move slowly down her neck, to her breast. I squeezed the firm softness (and yes, I stand by that description) I found there, and gently started to knead and massage. She moaned lightly against my mouth, and her back arched into my touch.

I had decided that, if we were going to attempt this, it needed to be in a bed. The couch would have been awkward enough without Karrin’s injuries. And, after that dream I'd had, I was really, really looking forward to _actually_ having her in there.

And so, without saying anything, I carefully got my arms beneath her and scooped her up, a grin on my face. She was still in just her black cotton panties on her lower half and…hell’s bells, I wanted to tear them off with my teeth. Her strong, smooth thighs felt so good in my arms.

Her eyes widened for a moment as I lifted her, but she quickly grasped my purpose and grinned back, her good arm going around my neck. “Lead on, squire,” she said imperiously.

I snorted. “Like you'd let anyone be your knight.”

We were both smiling like fools as I carried her to her bedroom and awkwardly opened the door. She giggled as I carried her over the threshold and gently set her down on the bed. Her golden hair splayed out on the pillow and her blue eyes looked up at me, bright and excited. Lord, she had never looked so cute.

I got up and closed the door, pulling off my t-shirt on the way back, dropping it to the floor. I was breathing fast in sheer anticipation. I saw Karrin look me up and down in satisfaction, which made me feel probably more attractive than I ever had in my life.

I knelt on the bed beside her. “You're beautiful,” I said, and kissed her once again. Her hands roamed my torso, and mine did the same to hers, slipping under her shirt. Her fingers clutched tightly in my hair and pulled my head to the side, making me gasp as her mouth went to my neck. She placed tender kisses to it at first that sent little shivers through me, before working over the skin with her teeth and tongue. That made me pant. Her mouth rose higher and nibbled my earlobe, her quickened breath hot and loud in my ear.

I made some sort of noise, and pulled Karrin up, barely remembering to be gentle. I carefully helped her remove her t-shirt, and then unhooked her sports bra, sliding that off too. I gently pushed her flat on the bed again, looking deep into her eyes, before I bowed my head to her breasts.

Karrin's breasts were, not to put too fine a point on it, glorious. Not large, but not very small either, and as firm and pert as the rest of her. _Just like I'd always imagined_ … I kissed around one first, delighting in the little intakes of breath, before seizing a stiff, pink nipple in my mouth. She moaned, arching up against my lips, and my cock _jumped_. God, I was gonna explode if I couldn’t get inside her soon. If we couldn’t find a way to make it work, the blueness of my balls may kill me. And Butters would probably have to autopsy me to establish a cause of death, and the whole thing would just be embarrassing for everyone. I imagined the epitaph on my tombstone changed from ‘ _He died doing the right thing_ ’ to ‘ _He died of unresolved sexual tension_ ’. Worryingly, it sounded just as fitting.

Karrin continued to writhe beneath me as I switched my attentions to her other breast, laving the nipple with my tongue, sucking, nibbling ever so gently with my teeth. “Oh _fuck,_ ” Karrin gasped. “ _Come here_.”

I moved back up her body, and she reached towards my jeans. She palmed my evident hardness through them, rubbing up and down, and I made noises that could in no way be described as whimpers, I assure you. She quickly took mercy, more than a little impatient herself, and deftly undid my button and zip one-handed. She tugged on my jeans and boxers and I helped her remove them, shucking them off the side of the bed. Karrin’s eyes were glazed with lust as she stared at my cock and took me in hand.

It wasn’t that I'd never had a woman desire me before. In fact all my long-term partners had been pretty open about that sort of thing. But something about the way Karrin looked at me… It made me feel even taller than I already was. Maybe because…it felt like I'd won. It felt like I'd _won_ romance. It suddenly ceased to matter what any other woman may have thought of my sex appeal, because the best one looked at my dick like _that_.

It was hard not to collapse onto her as she stroked me. Her grip was the perfect balance of gentle and firm, her small hand slightly callused. “ _Karrin_ ,” I gasped, relishing her name on my lips, and saw her close her eyes with a shiver. The fire was starting to consume me, and the Winter Mantle (and probably my own instincts) were starting to demand that I take her _now_.

I managed to pull back from her grip, and with a growl, yanked her black panties down her legs, tossing them away. I moved back up her to seize her mouth with mine as my fingers slid between her legs and found her clit. Karrin moaned into my mouth as I began to stroke her. After a few moments I moved my lips to her neck, biting and sucking, and slipped my fingers inside her, making her gasp and buck. She was soaking and hot and perfect. “Now, Harry. _Please_ ,” she begged, and it was just as well, as I was an inch away from pinning her down and taking her more vigorously than she’d probably be able for.

Instead, I kissed her. Slow and sensual and deep. She returned it with gusto and whimpered. Then I took a deep breath to steady myself as I pulled back, trying to figure out some way of positioning her legs that wouldn’t cause her pain. “ _Who cares if it does_?” demanded the Winter Mantle. “ _She's willing to take it_.”

“ _Shut up!_ ” I snarled.

There was enough space for me to kneel between her knees, and I wrapped my arm around her good leg. “Let me know if anything hurts, ‘kay?” I said softly, and she nodded, breathing hard.

I lifted her leg, pushing her knee up towards her body and then out to the side. Thank God she was flexible. That created enough space for my hips to line up with hers, slightly at an angle, and I leaned over her, my weight on my hands. “Is that okay?” I asked, my voice husky.

She nodded. “Yes.” The word was filled with need.

And so, finally, I set myself against her entrance, and slowly pushed into her. _Oh God…_ It turned out that the compact tightness of Karrin’s body extended _everywhere_. We both cried out; Karrin threw her head back. Every inch gave me more silken fire, until I was totally sheathed in her. I stayed still for a moment, giving us both a chance to remember our names, before I started to move.

Moving made me forget what planet I was on again, the sensation so exquisitely intense. “ _Ha-_ rry!” Karrin moaned, deep in her throat, and it was like… I don’t know; strange as it is to say, it was like my life flashed before my eyes. In an instant, I saw everything that had made me who I was, and what I knew of what made Karrin who she was. I saw our whole relationship, and how it had brought us here. I saw… Ah, God, I saw too much and couldn’t process all of it.

What I was left with, however, was an overwhelming sense that I _belonged_ here. In Karrin’s arms, inside her, her calling out my name.

I’d known that this type of act could possess magic. Making love, when the love part was sincerely meant and reciprocated, could protect one against White Court vampires, after all. It left a mark on you. It might have been fancy, but I could have sworn I felt that mark settle in my skin, and much deeper inside me, when Karrin called my name.

I shuddered, and whispered her name in return. Her blue eyes opened, sparkling, and met mine. It was intense, and I could feel the pull of a soulgaze begin. But instead, I closed my eyes and bowed my forehead to hers as I continued moving. The last thing I wanted right now was to frighten her.

Her body pushed up against mine, meeting my thrusts. It felt amazing, but I could see the slight wince of pain in her face when she moved too far. I reached down and seized her hip with my hand, pinning her firmly in place as I moved against her. “No ‘being athletic',” I chided gently next to her ear, and nibbled it while I was there.

She whimpered. “But I don’t just want to lie here like a fish,” she protested breathlessly.

I chuckled, and tried to say words. “Trust me, you still feel amazing. And we'll have plenty of time to be more…adventurous when you’re better,” I promised her with a wolfish smile, meeting her blue eyes for a dangerous length of time again.

Her protests subsided with a moan, her eyes closing and her neck arching back. Thrust by thrust, the pleasure built in both of us, and eventually I could tell she was getting close.

I seized her mouth with mine as I moved a little faster, trying to stoke the moans that hummed against my lips. My tongue plundered her mouth in total abandon, and hers welcomed it. I was lost in her completely, and it was everything I'd dreamed.

I angled my hips to penetrate as deeply as I could, and she released my mouth to cry out. “Yes, _please_ , don’t stop!”

“Never,” I promised, meaning it.

I felt her climax, her muscles clenching and releasing and transferring some of her ecstasy to me, making me moan with her. She arched against me and called out my name again, covered in sweat. I tried to seal the image in my memory.

After what seemed like an impressively long time, she relaxed against the sheets with a dazed, happy smile. She opened her eyes, and they were warm and languorous. “Your turn,” she said.

And I'll be damned if that didn’t push me over the edge almost straight away. I moaned, and after three more thrusts, the dam broke and my body paralysed me as deep inside her as I could go. “Yes. _Karrin. Yes_ ,” I gasped when I could move again, shining waves surging through me and sweeping me away, into her.

With a final cry I collapsed on her, barely remembering not to squash her and to be careful of her injuries. I kissed at her face and neck, though I could scarcely control my muscles. She found my mouth with hers and we kissed lazily. I was still inside her, feeling warm and protected. She wrapped her good arm around me, fingers playing over my neck and through my hair. It was bliss, and I wished I could bottle the sensation.

“Mmm,” I hummed, when I'd summoned the breath and brain power to speak. “Now that was worth waiting for.”

She nodded against me. “And worth repeating.”

I grinned as I kissed her neck. “Barely even finished and you're ready to go again?”

She grinned back. “I never said it wouldn’t be hard work keeping up with me.”

I laughed, kissed her, and regretfully withdrew from her to curl up beside her. She gave a slight whimper of protest, which made me very happy.

I lay on my side with my face in her hair, inhaling the strawberry scent, and wrapped my arm around her middle. I wanted nothing more than to drift off, but I knew it probably wasn’t long until I had to leave. I groaned. “I want to stay here tonight.”

She smiled. “I know. I want you to stay too. But Hope's got that test tomorrow.”

I groaned again. “Stupid Hope and her stupid test,” I muttered darkly.

Karrin grinned, but craned her neck to look at the clock on her bedside locker. She sighed. “It’s nearly nine. Not bad stamina by the way, Dresden,” she added, looking me up and down sinfully.

I smiled. “Thank you for noticing.” I put my mouth next to her ear. “Considering how incredibly hot and tight you are, it wasn’t easy.”

She shuddered, and seized my mouth to make out some more, hands roaming. I didn’t usually say things like that to women. Not after the first time, at least. But with Murph… I don’t know, I guess even though this was our first time in bed together, I had certain instincts about what she liked. She got turned on by a mercenary taking her pants off during a gunfight (a memory that still evoked blazing jealousy in me, in spite of the fact that the woman in question was currently all over me). She got turned on by us fighting monsters together (as did I, though like her, I didn’t necessarily enjoy thinking that about myself). I figured she was the type who might enjoy frank dirty talk.

I gave a sort of growl of frustration and broke the embrace, peppering her face with kisses. “I have to go,” I said. “But I'll be back. Tomorrow. I'll set up residence in your bed and you’ll have to evict me.”

She smiled. “Maybe I won’t. Maybe I'll tie you up here instead. Have you whenever I feel like it.” Her finger trailed up my chest, over my nipple.

My eyes widened at that idea. “If you want to tie me up, I'm definitely willing to discuss terms. As long as I get to return the favour at some point.”

More frantic kissing followed, until eventually, with a final groan, I pulled myself away and rose, looking for my clothes. Karrin watched me unabashedly. I smirked. “Enjoying the view?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I've always enjoyed the view. Now I get to watch it get dressed.”

I did blush at that, which only made her grin. I dressed, feeling her eyes on me like a caress the whole time. So I let myself leer at her when I turned back to the bed, where she lay still naked and covered in a light sheen of sweat. “Do _you_ want some clothes?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

She shook her head. “Nah. But my robe would be nice.”

I grabbed it from the back of her door and helped her into it, placing gentle kisses on her neck and shoulders. She let out soft little noises of contentment.

Part of me still couldn’t believe this was us. That we'd actually done it. We'd had sex, and it hadn’t been under the influence of a love spell, or because we were facing certain death, and I somehow hadn’t been shot first. It had been so good and so easy, injuries notwithstanding. I was worried that fate was about to kick us in the balls in some way, but as a couple, we could now add ‘amazing sex' to our growing list of compatibilities.

I supposed maybe this was partly _why_ we'd held off for so long. I think we both recognised the potential for this to be, well…it. And, given our histories, we were both terrified of screwing it up.

But I was coming to realise we'd been each other's life partners for years, just without the fun bits. And, now that we had those bits too, I was _not_ going to screw it up.

So I made sure my wonderful girlfriend had everything she needed, and left the house smiling, playing highlights of the last hour on a loop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I know that after Battle Ground, all this might seem like a bit of a downer. But I'm fairly confident that Murphy will be back at some point, and I really hope she and Harry still end up together. And if not, they will in my fics at least!


	2. Telling the Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating for this is T, and only cos of some mild language. Was sorry that we didn't get to see some of the other characters' reactions to Harry and Karrin's relationship. So here you go.

It was that time of year again. When the Mid-Western summer set in and it was necessary to get up at stupid o’clock to go running if one wanted to avoid heatstroke.

If it wasn’t for the Winter Mantle, I probably wouldn’t have bothered. But the damn thing needed to run, like a husky that got bored and destructive without enough exercise. At least I had a vampire brother who was willing to accompany me at such ungodly hours.

Thomas looked like a Hollywood A-Lister jogging along the pre-dawn beach, and I looked like his moderately convincing stunt double who would have his face CGI-ed out in post. I was taller, scarred, and looked older, though I was in fact the younger by several years.

Thomas’s aging had ceased pretty firmly at ‘early thirties', and judging by his family, it was likely to remain there basically forever. The bastard. Wizards had the unfortunate deal of getting stuck in middle-age for two or three centuries. I supposed it gave us more gravitas, but it might have been nice to stay young and hot. If I could ever have been called such a thing.

Though what was it Murphy had called me yesterday? ‘Rugged, but with big dumb puppy-dog eyes'. I liked that (aside from maybe the dumb part), and I definitely liked that she thought it. I started smiling to myself like an idiot, and of course Thomas noticed.

“Okay, that’s enough.”

“What?” I asked, attempting innocence.

“All week, you've been getting this dopey look on your face. What is it? Is it because Maggie is moving in? Because honestly, it looks like you’ve found yourself a woman.”

I couldn’t help the grin that broke out. “Well, I am very happy about Maggie moving in,” I said truthfully.

His grey eyes widened, and he came to a stop on the beach. I stopped beside him. “You _have_ found yourself a woman!” he realised. “Okay, spill. Is it...? It’s not...?” His face was so hopeful, I couldn’t help but laugh. I think it was the happiest sound I'd ever made. It barely sounded like me.

I didn’t think it was possible, but his eyes bugged even wider. “It _is_! It’s Murphy! You and Murphy!” And he threw his arms around me, picked me up and spun me around, whooping. Which was no mean feat, given that I was nine inches taller than him. It was the most un-Thomas-like thing he'd ever done. We looked every inch the gay couple we'd sometimes pretended to be, and I saw a passing pair of women give us ‘aw, how cute’ smiles. “Would you put me down, you lunatic!”

He finally did, grinning. “Okay, tell me everything!”

I rolled my eyes. “You are _such_ a teenage girl.”

He punched me in the arm none too gently. “I don’t care! I've been waiting for this for years!”

I scowled good-naturedly. “It’s not like we're getting married. Don’t overreact.”

He smiled. “No, but you will be,” he said with confidence.

I sputtered at that. “What?! How do _you_ know?”

His smile became more mysterious, and his eyes sparkled. “Why do you think I shipped you and Karrin so hard to begin with? I'm a White Court vampire. We can smell love a mile away.”

“What the heck do you mean ‘shipped’?”

He just laughed, for some reason.

“And besides,” I added, more softly. “Just because people are in love, doesn’t mean it always works out.” I had first-hand knowledge of that, after all.

He shrugged. “No,” he conceded. “And of course, it being you two, you could both be killed horribly tomorrow. But, if you’re not...” He shrugged again.

I frowned and rolled my eyes, though I couldn’t deny some part of me was pleased at his vote of confidence in us. But it was way too early to start thinking about things like marriage. It had been a week, for Christ's sake! Stupid Thomas.

I took off running again, and he followed. “I'm just saying,” he continued after a few strides, “you two have been through a lot. Like, a _lot_. And you’re still hot for each other. If I was a betting man...” He trailed off. “Anyway, it’s not important. Whatever happens, happens. I'm just happy for you, man. And Karrin.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that. “Thanks. And...we know, I think. How important it might be. I know _I'm_ determined not to mess it up. I think she feels the same.”

My brother grinned, his teeth TV white. “Good. And if you ever forget, I'll beat you both to death in sheer frustration,” he promised. “Anyway, tell me how it happened!”

I rolled my eyes, but relented.

* * *

It was my first time leaving Maggie alone, and I was nervous. Well, not alone; Hope Carpenter would be arriving shortly to babysit. But still, Maggie had barely been out of my sight in the week since she’d moved in, and I was mildly terrified.

“You have your go-bag in your room?”

She nodded. “Yes, Dad. You already asked me. Twice. Are you…” She bit her lip, her big brown eyes starting to look anxious. “Are you worried something might happen?”

I stopped in my umpteenth round of security checks on the apartment. I made myself take a breath. My fretting was making her scared. “No, punkin,” I said, walking over to sit beside her on the couch. “I mean, obviously, I'm always a bit worried. But I wouldn’t be leaving if I didn’t think it was safe. I just…” I sighed. “I guess I've gotten used to you always being with me or at the Carpenters’, surrounded by literal angels.”

She chewed her lip again. “But…I mean I go to school most days. And there are no angels there. Just Mouse.”

Said beast opened his mouth in a reassuring doggie grin where he on the floor in front of us, and I reached out to pet his thick, warm fur. “That’s true,” I agreed. I was pretty sure I was meant to be the one calming Maggie down, but right now it was the other way around. That probably wasn’t the best dad-ing.

She looked a little awkward then. “Are you…?” She trailed off and seemed to change her mind about what she was going to say. “I'm glad Ms Murphy is getting out of hospital. You'll be visiting her a lot?”

I nodded. “Only if that’s okay with you, punkin. Karrin will probably need some help with things like dinner for a while. You could come over too sometimes, if you like.”

I hadn’t discussed that with Karrin, but I was sure she wouldn’t mind. Unless… I mean, I didn’t want her to think I was trying to rush her into ‘being part of the family’. Dammit, I had never done the whole dating as a single dad thing before.

Maggie just smiled. “That would be nice. I like Ms Murphy.” They'd met whenever Karrin had visited the Carpenters. But she seemed to have something else on her mind. “I heard Mr Carpenter say the other day… Well, I think he thought I wouldn’t understand what he meant, but… Is Ms Murphy your girlfriend now?”

What the heck had Michael said? I'd have to have a word with him…

Still, I supposed I hadn’t really intended to keep it a secret any longer. “…Yeah, kind of. We've only been going out a very short time, though, which is why I hadn’t told you yet.” And in fact we had done no ‘going out’ at all, unless lunches in the hospital foodcourt counted. It was my turn to bite my lip in anxiety now. “Is that… I mean, are you okay with that?”

She nodded slowly. “Yeah. I think so. I think it'd be nice to have Ms Murphy around more. She likes you a lot,” she finished, her eyes averted, with a smile that was very sly for a ten year-old.

I couldn’t help but smile back. “Yeah? What makes you say that?”

“Whenever she talks about you, she gets this weird look. In a good way, I mean.”

I couldn’t help but grin at that. “Yeah?”

Maggie nodded, still with the mischievous smile. “Yeah. You do the same when you talk about her. Your eyes get all wide and bright.”

I could feel myself blush, and flicked her lightly on the nose. She giggled. “You notice too much,” I told her.


	3. The Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating for this one is T. Fluff (though hopefully not too unrealistic). Takes place a little after the bath scene.

We lay together for a long while, thoroughly sated. Her hair was still a little damp against my arm, but I barely noticed. I was in absolute bliss, almost drifting off. My body had decided that it had accomplished everything important for the day, and now it was time to sleep next to the woman I loved.

The woman I loved. Karrin. My Murph. I got to spend the night with her, in her bed. I couldn’t entirely put my brother and the whole crazy situation out of my head, but God was I glad to be with her.

I wondered how she would sleep. Did she snore? Did she steal blankets? Was she a cuddler?

I smiled. I bet she snored and I bet it was cute.

The peaceful calm was broken by Karrin suddenly sitting bolt upright next to me and exclaiming, “Shit!”

I startled, and looked around to make sure we weren’t in danger.

But Karrin had leaned over to her nightstand and was frantically rooting through its top drawer.

“What is it?” I asked.

She groaned. “I forgot to take my pill today.”

“...Your pain pill?”

Her hands ceased their rummaging, and she turned back to me to give me an extremely flat look.

Why would she...? “Oh.”

She turned back to her locker, and eventually found the little foil packet she was looking for. She popped one of the pills and swallowed it with some water, before groaning again. “I almost never forget! I was just so preoccupied with everything today!” She shook her head in frustration. “Well, it was just 12 hours or so; hopefully it’ll be okay...”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, rubbing her back a little. I was still lying down. “I'm sure it’ll be fine. And if it wasn’t...” I shrugged. “We'd manage. It wouldn’t be the end of the world.”

She was still for a moment, and then turned to look at me, her expression quizzical.

“I mean... Logically it wouldn’t be the best time,” I elaborated. “We haven’t been together very long, and I know our lifestyles maybe don’t fit too great with baby-raising. And with your injuries, pregnancy would probably be tough. So yeah, not the greatest timing. But the idea of having a kid with you, at some point?” I shrugged. “Not so terrible,” I said honestly.

Her blue eyes had gotten wide. “You're serious,” she said.

I shrugged uncomfortably. “Yeah? I mean I have no idea if you want kids or not, and I'm fine either way.” Well. More or less. The truth was I hoped she did at some point. But if she didn’t, I'd still want to be with her. “But yeah.”

She seemed to be doing some serious processing, her eyes still quite wide and her brow furrowed, staring at nothing. Eventually, she said, “The truth is I don’t know. I mean...” She looked at me then, her expression vulnerable, worrying her lip slightly. “Rich wanted kids, and I wasn’t ready for them. But I was pretty much a kid myself. I'd just started my career and he wanted me to give it all up. Now...” She shrugged. “Things are different. I'd kind of resigned myself to never having a family, but...” She blushed. “If things work out between us, and you’re willing to bring the sperm, it might be kind of nice. Insane, I mean, considering our lives, but...kind of nice.”

She was looking at me from under her lashes, her damp blond curls hanging over her face, and she was so cute I wanted to ravish her all over again. I smiled. “Yeah, it would,” I agreed. I let my hand run up her arm, over her shoulder and to her face. I cupped her cheek and she leaned into me, cat-like. I needed more moments like this.

“You... You've really taken to being a dad, haven’t you,” she said.

I shrugged with a smile. “Yeah, I guess I have.”

“It’s... It’s been nice to see. I was a little worried about it, when you were so nervous about getting involved at first.” Guilt writhed in me. I felt really bad about how long I'd left Maggie fatherless. “But it’s been like a duck to water. It’s been...” She bit her lip again. “It’s been very cute. Hearing you talk about her. You’re always so proud of her.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that. “Yeah, I am.”

Karrin lay down next to me, settling her head on my chest, and I wrapped my arm around her. I pulled the covers up over us both. “What's it like?” she asked quietly.

“Hm?”

“Being a parent, I mean.”

Now there was a question. I spent a few moments trying to put some kind of answer together. “It’s...the best and scariest thing I've ever done. The best because, when Maggie’s happy and safe, it’s like everything’s right with the world. The scariest because the thought of anything happening to her... It would break me completely,” I finished quietly.

Karrin gave me a squeeze. “I think Maggie is probably one of the safest little girls in the world. Harry Dresden protecting his child? Mab herself wouldn’t dare try it.”

I grunted in general agreement. “I hope not.” I bent and pressed a long kiss to the top of Karrin’s head, trying to let her know how much her faith meant to me. The smell of her hair was like a mild narcotic, and I felt my eyes flutter closed.

“...What do you think a kid of ours would be like?” Karrin asked, so quietly that it took me a few seconds to be sure I’d heard her. Then I grinned.

This was actually something I'd thought about, though I wouldn’t be mentioning that to her. But sometimes when I was watching Maggie... I had idle fantasies of her having a little blond brother or sister.

It bothered me immensely that I hadn’t been there for most of my daughter’s first decade. I wasn’t there when she was born. I didn’t know what her first words were. I didn’t bring her to her first day of school. And my heart ached for those experiences. It was true what Karrin had said; in spite of my initial anxieties, I found that I loved being a dad more than anything I had ever done. There was a clarity of purpose to it that was true of little else in life. It didn’t hurt that Maggie was amazing, of course, but I was sure any child of Karrin Murphy would be equally so. Her superwoman genes would beat the shit out of my jankier ones, just as Susan’s had done.

We wouldn’t have very long to decide on the whole kids thing, I knew, from a biological clock perspective. Karrin had turned forty last birthday. But if things were going well between us in another six months, I’d fully intended to pop the question anyway. She'd been my best friend for most of my adult life and we'd faced death and mayhem together far more often than any sane people should. Marriage? Psh. Piece of cake. Or so I tried to tell myself, at least. It was certainly a less scary prospect than being without her.

“Hmm,” I hummed into her hair. “Well physically, I have no idea. They could be blond or dark-haired. Brown or blue-eyed. A giant or...not a giant.”

Murph punched me in the side, and I snorted. “Or who knows,” I continued, “maybe our genes would meet in the middle and we'd actually make a normal-sized human. Wouldn’t that be novel.” That earned me another punch, but I could feel her smiling against me.

“As for their personality...” I mused. “Hmm. The sarcasm and stubbornness might be clinical.”

Murph shook her head, laughing a little. “That is a somewhat intimidating prospect.”

“Mm,” I agreed. “But...I bet they'd be smart, like you. And brave. And badass.”

She gave a small hum of happiness and nuzzled closer into me. (My Murph wasn’t always the best at taking compliments, but she was trying.) She was quiet for a few moments, and then said softly, “Well...maybe someday we'll find out.”

I smiled and squeezed her. “Maybe someday,” I agreed. And, in spite of everything, the thought filled me with happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea that Karrin maybe wants a family comes from stuff she says to Harry in Proven Guilty (about wanting someone she can grow old and raise a family with). The idea that Harry's been thinking about their future comes from stuff he says in Battle Ground (which I won't make people relive).


End file.
